10 Expert Tips to Edit Your Blog That Every Entrepreneur Should Know
Every ecommerce store should have a blog. They improve your SEO and help customers connect to your brand’s personality. However, a poorly edited blog can actually be worse than having no blog at all. Low-quality content reduces the trust consumers have in a business and could contribute to lost sales. To avoid this, use our expert tips to edit your blog!
- Plan before writing
- Take a break before beginning to edit
- Edit the big picture first
- Take a look at word frequency
- Cut down the intro
- Use a grammar and spelling checker
- Re-read for clarity
- Use an editing and formatting checklist
- Preview your blog
- Don’t stress over perfection
Plan Before Writing
Blog editing actually begins before you even write your first word. Taking the time to plan the content you wish to discuss in each and every post helps cut down on wasted words and stops you from writing paragraphs that you ultimately cut at the end. By writing only what’s necessary, you make the entire editing process much simpler.
Take a Break Before Beginning to Edit
One of the most common mistakes copywriters make is that they dive into editing their articles as soon as they finish the writing process. By beginning to edit immediately, writers experience bias in favour of their content. Instead of rearranging paragraphs for a better flow or catching simple mistakes, those things are easily missed. Often, writers’ minds are also drained and taking a quick break before editing helps them to feel refreshed for the task.
Edit Your Blog By Editing the Big Picture First
While it can be tempting to dive right into the nitty-gritty of editing by combing through for small spelling mistakes and grammar errors, avoid this temptation until later. Instead, take a look at the big picture first. Examine every paragraph and consider if it’s in the right place, impactful, and actually adds something to your blog. If you feel like something is missing, add it now. Also take the time to remove any content that doesn’t strengthen the article. Chances are you’ll find some sections you would like to rewrite, which is best done early in the editing process.
Take a Look at Word Frequency
When trying to drive a point home, you want to repeat the main topic of your blog often. However, by repeating the topic verbatim every time, you fatigue the words and reduce their overall impact. Using certain phrases too often may even annoy readers. To avoid this, create a list of words you use frequently, or use a frequency checker, and search through your article for opportunities to use synonyms. You may even be able to make the content stronger!
Cut Down the Intro
Most blogs can benefit from a little bit of pruning here and there and, more often than not, the intro is the worst offender. Many bloggers get a little bit too wordy when introducing their topic, which muddles the overall content and deters the reader from continuing on. Re-read your introduction once or twice and edit (or rewrite) as needed.
Use a Grammar and Spelling Checker
Now you can move on to the task of the detailed edits. When you edit your blog, start by combing through it with your own eyes. However, our eyes can be deceiving, our minds can be tired, and it’s easy to miss small mistakes that a grammar and spelling checker will point out. Many blogging sites have a number of plugins you can make use of, but a word processor can do the job as well.
Re-Read for Clarity
By this point, the majority of rewrites and small edits needed in your post should be done. You can now begin reading it all together, paying attention to its flow and clarity. In addition, one trick many writers aren’t aware of is that blogs should be written with a Grade 5 audience in mind. By keeping the language accessible, you ensure more people will be interested in your content. This step adds a level of polish to take any blog from amateur to professional.
Use an Editing and Formatting Checklist
Many brands have their own “house-style” which is a set of rules each post must follow to keep up a common look and style. Rules may include how a post is structured, how certain words are spelled (for example: e-commerce, ecommerce, or eCommerce), and more. Going through this list for every article you write will help you keep up standards and allow your customers to know what to expect from your blog.
Preview Your Blog
Finally, before you hit publish, use the “Preview” button to read your blog one last time. The preview function will show you what your readers see and give you a fresh glance at your article. Here, you can fix any final formatting, spelling, and grammar errors you missed before releasing your article to the public.
Don’t Stress Over Perfection
The last tip you should know when you edit your blog is possibly the most important: don’t stress over being perfect. Nothing is perfect, and you shouldn’t expect your blog to be either. Instead, focus on making your articles as well-written and polished as possible. A single typo won’t scare your customers away, and a blog that shows obvious love and care will impress them. By not focusing on perfection, the entire blog-writing process also becomes more enjoyable and less stressful, which will only increase your quality of work further.
Whether you’ve been writing a blog for years or are just starting out, these tips can make every blogger a pro.
Visit Shopivo and stay tuned for exciting news and updates! Sign up for our emails and stay up-to-date on new developments and features.